80-foot-tall civil rights mural may be replaced in Downtown Memphis

July 13, 2018 - The mural at MLK Avenue and S. Main was a collaboration between local artist Michael Roy and former Memphian Derrick Dent. The 80-foot-tall mural on the side of a parking garage features a visual timeline of the area around the mural and includes a contraband camp, Beale Street Baptist Church, Ida B. Wells, African-American Union soldiers, Robert Church, the Cotton Jubilee, the Daisy Theater, Monroe Housing and the Universal Life Insurance Company building before ending with a family at sidewalk level.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

The future of an 80-foot-tall Downtown Memphis mural illustrating civil rights milestones in the city is up in the air.

The 2-year-old mural, which features icons like Ida B. Wells and depicts a fatherless black family, may be painted over, according to the artists.

But the city hasn't made a final decision on what to do with the space at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and South Main Street, Paul Young, the Memphis director of housing and community development, said.

Young said the piece wasn't intended to occupy the space forever, and that the city received complaints about different elements of the mural.

"We've heard from some historians about the historical accuracy" of those depicted and their clothing, Young said.

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July 13, 2018 - The mural at MLK Avenue and S. Main was a collaboration between local artist Michael Roy and former Memphian Derrick Dent. The 80-foot-tall mural on the side of a parking garage features a visual timeline of the area around the mural and includes a contraband camp, Beale Street Baptist Church, Ida B. Wells, African-American Union soldiers, Robert Church, the Cotton Jubilee, the Daisy Theater, Monroe Housing and the Universal Life Insurance Company building before ending with a family at sidewalk level.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

The city also received complaints, he said, about the phrase "Black Lives Matter," which is inscribed on a small section close to the bottom. But that's not the motivation for considering repainting, Young said.

The mural was commissioned to be part of the Memphis Heritage Trail, designed to take "empty spaces and make them vibrant by showcasing historical significance while bringing modern usefulness and viability," according to the trail's website.

Local artists Michael Roy, also known as Birdcap, and Derrick Dent partnered on the project.

Roy said a representative from the Urban Arts Commission, which was the go-between with the city on the project, told him this week the work would be painted over by a new artist. Roy posted about it on Instagram, garnering nearly 200 comments in support of keeping the mural.

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July 13, 2018 - The mural at MLK Avenue and S. Main was a collaboration between local artist Michael Roy and former Memphian Derrick Dent. The 80-foot-tall mural on the side of a parking garage features a visual timeline of the area around the mural and includes a contraband camp, Beale Street Baptist Church, Ida B. Wells, African-American Union soldiers, Robert Church, the Cotton Jubilee, the Daisy Theater, Monroe Housing and the Universal Life Insurance Company building before ending with a family at sidewalk level.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

The Urban Arts Commission did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

Roy said after his social media post, he was told there would be further discussion before a final decision.

"I would rather the mural stay up," Roy said. "If it can't stay up, I would like them to know they have to be very transparent about all the steps."

Roy said it took over a month to install the work, which he painted in a warehouse. It's now affixed to the wall in a way that it can't be removed.

Roy and Dent submitted sketches for approval to the Urban Arts Commission. Even after the approvals, Roy said, changes were requested that were difficult to make once the piece was on the wall. Complaints included that the family illustrated at the bottom looked sad, he said.

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July 13, 2018 - The mural at MLK Avenue and S. Main was a collaboration between local artist Michael Roy and former Memphian Derrick Dent. The 80-foot-tall mural on the side of a parking garage features a visual timeline of the area around the mural and includes a contraband camp, Beale Street Baptist Church, Ida B. Wells, African-American Union soldiers, Robert Church, the Cotton Jubilee, the Daisy Theater, Monroe Housing and the Universal Life Insurance Company building before ending with a family at sidewalk level.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

"We wanted it to be a piece about the civil rights that wasn't sanitized in a way that makes it look like it's all been solved," Roy said.

The pair submitted an estimate to the commission of what the changes would cost, but did not receive a response, Roy said.

Dent, who designed the piece, said he conducted extensive research that informed his depictions.

"Being a black person myself, I totally understand the issue with how people who look like me are being represented," he said.

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July 13, 2018 - The mural at MLK Avenue and S. Main was a collaboration between local artist Michael Roy and former Memphian Derrick Dent. The 80-foot-tall mural on the side of a parking garage features a visual timeline of the area around the mural and includes a contraband camp, Beale Street Baptist Church, Ida B. Wells, African-American Union soldiers, Robert Church, the Cotton Jubilee, the Daisy Theater, Monroe Housing and the Universal Life Insurance Company building before ending with a family at sidewalk level.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

Dent said the mural was in its final stages of creation when protesters in Memphis calling for an end to police brutality shut down the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. As the mural was designed to be a timeline of civil rights events in the city, they made the decision to add a small "Black Lives Matter" inscription.

"It is a political statement, but so is everything that's on the mural, and I think it's inaccurate to leave that out," Dent said.